Gasikara Kolotora sy Kolontsaina

Beijing (AFP) - Thrill-seeking tourists in China got more than they bargained for when cracks appeared in a glass-bottomed walkway suspended 1,080 meters (3,540 foot) over a canyon, reports said. Images showing small cracks in the "skywalk" built around a mountain, which opened just two weeks ago, spread on social media along with doubts over its safety. "When I was almost at the end (of the walkway), there was a sudden loud bang and a tremor beneath my feet," the state-run China Net cited one woman as saying on Tuesday. The cracks resembled "winter frost on a window pane", the report said, and were apparently caused by a dropped stainless steel cup. But the incident at Yuntai mountain in the northern province of Henan "doesn't affect safety", park officials were quoted as saying. The glass made up of three layers is supposedly capable of supporting up to 800 kilograms (1,763 pounds) per square metre, they said. The incident occured during...

Soon after Pope Francis landed in Cuba last weekend, he urged the U.S. and Cuban governments to further reconcile. “We have witnessed an event which filled us with hope: the process of normalizing relations between two peoples following years of estrangement,” the pontiff said . President Obama already relaxed the 55-year-old Cuban embargo and   announced last week a raft of other measures   intending to strengthen economic ties between the two countries. But, the U.S.-Cuba rapprochement has some practical implications that go far beyond geopolitics. Cuba, a tropical island famous for its sandy beaches, colonial architecture, and rum cocktails, could soon be available to widespread American tourism for the first time in over five decades. This development is likely to pose not only challenges for Cuba but also for the Caribbean tourism industry. Can other Caribbean islands—most notably beleaguered Puerto Rico—handle the competition? Although tourists face   restrictions ...

Opening on September 23, 2015, the autumnal equinox, Dia Art Foundation presents Puerto Rican Light (Cueva Vientos) (2015), a new long-term work by Allora & Calzadilla on the southern coast of Puerto Rico, inside a remote cave at El Convento Natural Protected Area. Puerto Rican Light (Cueva Vientos)  is the newest iteration in a series of system-based sculptures by Allora & Calzadilla. Central to this commission is a solar energy converter that captures and stores sunlight, which is then used to power Dan Flavin’s Puerto Rican Light (to Jeanie Blake) (1965). For Dia’s commission, the artists ambitiously expand this sculptural gesture by installing Puerto Rican Light (Cueva Vientos)  in a cave in Puerto Rico. The journey is part of the viewer’s experience, similar to other Dia sites, including Walter De Maria’s The Lightning Field (1977) in New Mexico and Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty (1970) in Utah . Allora & Calzadilla address light (both natural and elect...

Nike has a long history of Puerto Rico sneakers , mostly Air Force 1s, that pay homage to the island. Joining that rich heritage is the Nike Air Trainer 1 "Puerto Rico" shown here, which features the requisite red, white, and blue colorway. The shoe doesn't skimp on Puerto Rican imagery either – there's a coqui frog on the tongue and Puerto Rican flag embroidered on the back. There's no firm release date for this Nike Air Trainer 1 pair yet, but Nike should be releasing them before the Puerto Rican Day Parade hits NYC on June 14. Nike Air Trainer 1 "Puerto Rico" Color: White/Gym Red-Game Royal-White Style #: 607081-102 Read more: http://solecollector.com/news/nike-air-trainer-1-puerto-rico/#ixzz3eXvmhnr0 by Brendan Dunne Nike Air Trainer 1 Puerto Rico

A team of scientists mapping the ocean floor off the coast of Puerto Rico have ccaptured some amazing images of deep sea creatures, some of which have never been seen before. Scientists from the US government-backed National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration used a remotely operated vehicle across 12 dives to explore the ocean floor to depths up to 20,000ft and then stream their discoveries online. In the video taken from these expeditions and posted online by the website Quartz, an assortment of weird and wonderful creatures such as a fluorescent jellyfish and bright pink starfish can be seen. In total, more than 100 species of fish, 50 deep-water corals and hundreds of invertebrates were filmed by the vehicle’s camera. Among these were several species that did not have names, including a new jellyfish-like creature and a never before seen species of fish. The expedition was just the first leg in a 52-day exploration off the coast of Puerto Rico and it is hoped that th...

  1. Relax on the beach: Puerto Rico's beaches are public and free to visit, although motorists likely will incur parking fees. Indeed, for most of these activities, you're likely to face some transportation and parking costs. Some favorite Puerto Rican beaches include Playa Isla Verde (near Luis Munoz Marin International) and Boquerón Beach (southwest coast) and Playa Flamenco (Isla de Culebra). 2. Stroll Old San Juan: Walk the blue cobblestone streets past pastel colonial buildings dating to the 16th and 17th century Spanish colonial period. El Paseo de la Princesa is lined with trees, antique street lamps, statues, fountains and street vendors. 3. Visit Casa Blanca: (White House), built in 1521 and owned by Ponce de León's family for 250 years. Open Wednesday through Sunday. 4. Explore museums: In Ponce, about 72 miles from San Juan, Museo de la Historia de Ponce focuses on Puerto Rican culture including its ecology, architecture, government and daily life. It inc...

The Caribbean’s newest travel conference began with a simple idea. “We decided that the world should become an island,” says Ingrid Rivera Rocafort, executive of the director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, which launched the first-ever Expo Turismo Internacional at the Puerto Rico Convention Center this week. Thursday saw the culmination of that vision with ETI, a new kind of Caribbean conference aimed at gathering travel agents and tourism actors from around the world in one regional hub. The conference, which is planned as an annual one, is modeled on those held in larger tourism areas like Florida Huddle and FITUR; the goal is to position the Caribbean as a major travel trade intersection, and Puerto Rico as its epicentre. “ETI Puerto Rico has been designed to highlight the options to enjoy the beauty, sports, nature, adventure and gastronomy in the Caribbean area and globally,” Rocafort said. “ETI will help raise awareness, not only for the diversity of our offer between...

Puerto Rico used to produce some of the best coffee in the world — but that was more than a century ago. Today, Puerto Rico's coffee crop is just a fraction of what it was then, and little is exported. But there's a movement on the island to improve quality and rebuild Puerto Rico's coffee industry. The U.S. territory is still America's leading coffee producer, ahead of Hawaii, the only other part of the country where it's grown in any sizable amount. (As The Salt has reported , there is some experimental commercial coffee farming in California.) Puerto Rico produced some 10 million pounds of coffee last year. Much of it is grown in places like Elena Biamon's farm near Jayuya, a town in the island's mountainous interior. Her farm, Finca Gripiñas , is 2,000 feet up, within sight of the island's highest peak and the world-famous Arecibo observatory. There are just 5 acres devoted to coffee and other crops. But getting there requires a hike — it's on...

Scientists just captured stunning images of deep sea creatures off the coast of Puerto Rico—some are so new to us, they don’t even have names. Stunning images of deep sea creatures off the coast of Puerto ... Scientists just captured stunning images of deep sea creatures off the coast of Puerto Rico—some are so new to us, they don’t even have names. Posted by Quartz on Thursday, May 7, 2015 Quartz - Stunning images of deep sea creatures

Two of my favorite things in this world are food and travel. If you ever run into me doing both of these things in a truly exploratory experience, you'll have found me, as they say, "in my element." Growing up in south Florida, I worked my way through various kitchens at a very early age and this is where I began my lifelong relationship with food. South Florida is a melting pot of so many different culinary cultures. As a main arrival point for basically anyone traveling from south of the United States, the Miami area is rife with food history. When you have a vibrant blend of people and culture in an individual area you end up with the unique tapestry of the individual's personal food favorites all woven together but still existing independently. In Miami, you have obvious Cuban influences, but also Haitian cuisine, food from Trinidad & Tobago, and all throughout the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico. During my years living in Miami, I've had the opportunit...

Puerto Rico may be a U.S. Territory, but it’s very different from the States. Here’s a quick, easy tutorial on how to go full local and fit right in when traipsing through the Caribbean paradise. Paula Froelich How to Go Full Local in Puerto Rico

An aerial view of rows of flower fields near the Keukenhof park, also known as the Garden of Europe in the Netherlands. Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters The world’s second largest flower garden, the Keukenhof park in Lisse, the Netherlands, was awash in a palette of colors today as its 7 million bulbs covering 79 acres came into bloom. The Keukenhof, or Garden of Europe, is open for eight weeks, from mid-March to mid-May and over that time an estimated 800,000 visitors peruse the garden’s profusion of floral colors. Thousands of visitors descend on the Garden of Europe in Lisse, the Netherlands each year to see millions of flowers bloom. Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters The Keukenhof was established in 1949  when a group of 20 flower bulb exporters were given permission to use part of the estate of the Keukenhof Castle for a permanent display of spring-flowering bulbs. About 100 suppliers bring their best bulbs to the park each fall for planting and a team of about 30 gardene...

Moviemaker Jose Manuel Davila is shooting a feature film entitled "1950" about the armed uprising that some 100 members of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party led 67 years ago against U.S. rule on the island. The film highlights the actions carried out by independence fighters between Oct. 30 and Nov. 10, 1950, Davila told Efe in an interview. "It's a very human documentary. In the project I didn't want members of the Nationalist Party to look like a bunch of crazy people, without any fanaticism or nationalism on my part. I didn't want to skid down either of those two slippery slopes, and if I end up doing that, I'll see the whole thing as a failure," the 30-year-old Puerto Rican said. The graduate in filmmaking from the Autonomous University of Barcelona started working on the documentary while preparing his master's thesis, which is about that group of Nationalist Party young people. However, the thesis made no mention of the uprising on Oct...

Cayo Ratones, a 10-hectare (24-acre) island off southern Puerto Rico that has just one solar-powered wooden house with a swimming pool, has been put on the market for $2.5 million. Puerto Rico Sotheby's International Realty is handling the sale and its president, Margaret Peña Juvelier, told Efe that "people from several parts of the world" had already expressed interest in the property. The small island is just a 10-minute boat ride from the city of Salinas, Peña said. "We're happy to show the world that things like this exist here. It's fantastic. You have to admit that we have beautiful places in Puerto Rico," Peña said, referring to Cayo Ratones. The Sotheby's executive, however, did not provide any information about the seller, saying only that the decision to list the property was made because the owner did not use the island "as often" as he would like to. "This island is unique and very special. It's paradise," Pe...

Culebra, a.k.a., Snake Island, is still a sleepy little speck, just a hop from the mainland of Puerto Rico, where fine white sand beaches, coral reefs and friendly smiles abound. Go for the snorkeling, for the diving, or even just the sunbathing and people watching on Flamenco Beach, but don’t go looking for luxury in the form of high-end resorts or fine dining – it’s not there yet. And that’s the allure of Culebra: it’s an escape, not only from cold climates, but from the fast pace of life, the onslaught of media and marketing — Internet is slow and intermittent — and also from our consumer-based society (no ones trying to hawk anything anywhere on the island). Without ever leaving the U.S., you will be transported to another world, and a simpler time. My family spent a week searching for the best beaches, swimming, snorkeling and diving. We’re a hard bunch to please: I have two newly minted divers in my family, my son, 13, and daughter, 12, and their instructor, my dad, plus my divin...